ABSTRACT
From the 19th century and the emergence of modern sports competitions, athletes and scientists sought ways to enhance and improve performance relative to other athletes, countries, and races. While much of performance science was initially applied to race horses, increasingly understanding of the moving body, its capabilities and its limits engaged scientists internationally. The public debate regarding race and sport performance lost some of its steam during World War II as athletic programs at all levels of competition lost some of their best performers to the war effort and with the cancellation or alteration of games and leagues and organizations. The ensuing debate regarding race and sport performance would certainly have practical implications and potentially deleterious effects. Despite no real evidence of a “magic racial gene,” scientists and observers continue to search for explanation of success by black athletes in any sport where they are overrepresented or achieve disproportionate success.
